


Disguises

by bulletincookie



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Arranged Marriage AU, Fluff, Human AU, M/M, Slow Burn, no running from your feelies here, too bad heelies havent been invented yet, vague historical time period that i dont want to nail down
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 08:23:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17525207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bulletincookie/pseuds/bulletincookie
Summary: When Claude is put into an arranged marriage with a princess he has only heard very little about, he's surprised to find that his bride to be was born mute. Or, perhaps, it's a secret that goes deeper than that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! This is a fic in progress that I'm writing 1. as a gift for @ask-mr-luxembourg on tumblr bc he deserves all the hugs, and 2. it's good practice for me to have a multichapter fic that has shorter chapters. This fic probably won't be too long, but it'll be fun anyways!
> 
> Names used:
> 
> Claude: Luxembourg  
> Lars: Netherlands  
> Léa: Belgium  
> Catarina: Portugal

Claude paced back and forth in the sitting room, wringing his gloved hands. The marriage had been sudden and out of his control, at his parents’ insistence. As the youngest, there was not much of a chance of him taking the throne. He supposed this was the best way for him to be useful for the kingdom. He wrinkled his nose at that. As if he wasn’t the best of them at diplomatic matters. He sighed and straightened up, smoothing his ornamental jacket down for the thousandth time. The golden buttons down the front gleamed in the flickering light from the fireplace. The two guards in the room stood by silently, so quiet that Claude almost forgot they were there.

He had not heard anything about what this marriage was meant to be, other than he would be marrying a princess from some kingdom that his family wanted to establish stronger trade routes with. Not that he would blame them, he had heard of the neighboring kingdom’s growing economy. He had not heard there was a princess in the family though. His parents could not give many details either, aside from the vague details that could be applied to anyone. She was quiet but beautiful, polite, and kind. Claude was about to question the guards on where the princess was, she was late already as is, when a servant strode into the room and gave a deep bow.

“Her majesty Princess Catarina Santos Medeiros,” he announced, stepping to the side just as a woman in a wide, deep green dress strode in. Claude couldn’t help but note with an internal grimace how odd the dress was. It was clear that it was ill-fitting on her, judging by how much the sleeves puffed out and how the front looked like it was about to split open if she were to breathe too deeply on accident. He wondered if she even could breathe in it, with the collar of the dress fastened tight up to her jaw. He couldn’t deny that green was a beautiful color on her, however. It complimented her light brown hair fastened up neatly into a bun, and her bright green eyes that looked more than displeased. Claude cleared his throat and bowed in front of her, taking a satin gloved hand in his own to press a light kiss to her knuckles.

“My, they had told me that I would be marrying a beautiful princess, but I had no idea you were this beautiful. I am pleased to meet you,” he said as he straightened up again. Catarina looked up at him with a deadpan expression before turning to her servant. Her hands fluttered, her fingers bending in a pattern that Claude couldn’t make out.

The servant paused and cleared his throat. “Her majesty, er..is thrilled to see you as well. We apologize for the late arrival,” he said, though Claude could tell by the glare Catarina shot the servant that it was not the truth. He decided not to question it.

“So you are as quiet and as mysterious as they said,” he noted instead.

“She was born mute. She has a way of speaking through her hands instead that I have been trained to interpret. You will learn it eventually too, as her husband,” the servant assured him. He paused as Catarina’s hands moved again, and glanced away, not translating it for Claude.

Claude’s curiosity won over. “What did she say?”

“Er, she says… ‘if the marriage lasts’. I apologize, she is not yet adjusted to the idea of this marriage and has been in a particularly foul mood as of late due to it.”

Claude looked in surprise at Catarina, who shot him an annoyed look back. A polite smile made its way onto his face. “Well Catarina, I do hope that I can make you more comfortable with the idea of this marriage.”

Catarina continued to give him a deadpanned expression before turning back to her servant and gesturing some more.

“Already?” the servant asked with a slight frown. Catarina gave a determined nod. “Very well.” The servant turned back to Claude and sighed. “I apologize, her majesty would like to know where her quarters are so she may rest. It was a long journey, you see.”

Perhaps that was why Catarina was so annoyed, she had a long journey and was merely tired. Claude hoped she would be a bit more agreeable once she had a chance to rest. “Of course,” he agreed. He turned to the two guards. “Would one of you please escort the lady to her room?”

“It would be my pleasure,” one of the guards spoke up as he stepped forward. “Follow me your majesty.”

“I will send a servant up to your room when dinner is ready,” Claude offered before they left.

“Wonderful, thank you very much for your generous hospitality your majesty,” the servant said, giving a bow.

Claude waved as they followed the guard out of the room. He waited until the door shut before he heaved a deep sigh and sank down into one of the plush armchairs. Only a few minutes after, the door opened again and his sister strode in with a sly grin on her face.

“Well, didn’t you just win the lottery of brides! Try not to get swept up in how excited she is about this wedding,” Léa teased, pinching Claude’s cheek as she plopped down next to him on the couch.

“I am sure it was only the exhausting trip that has her—” Claude stopped and looked at her. “…You were eavesdropping.”

“Why wouldn’t I? Am I not allowed to see for myself who all of the fuss around the palace has been for?”

“You could have asked to accompany me during the meeting.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Claude laughed and got to his feet, helping Léa up as well. “Well, I apologize it was not more fun for you then.”

“Aw it’s fine, I know that won’t be the only time you two talk.”

“I may begin to speak with her with only my hands so that you cannot listen in.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!”

Claude laughed as he left the room with Léa following behind him. He tried not to worry so much about how this would go, but it was difficult not to. Their first meeting was less than favorable, and they hadn’t even known each other for more than a few minutes and what had been heard from their parents before that.

“Hey, how do you think the wedding’s going to go?” Léa spoke up, shocking him out of his thoughts. “She can’t say her vows. How will we know she isn’t insulting you or listing off a recipe for soup instead?”

Claude faked a cough to suppress his laugh. “Don’t be rude, I am sure they will figure out a way.”

“Don’t lie, you thought it was funny.”

“She is to be my bride, I cannot make fun of her condition.”

“What condition?” The two stopped and looked to see their eldest brother Lars striding towards them.

“Claude’s wife is mute and hates him already,” Léa spoke up before Claude could say anything.

“She does not hate me,” Claude interjected, “she had a long trip and was irritated from that.”

“Right, because a long trip makes you hopeful for a marriage to not work out.”

“I didn’t know you were such a ladies’ man Claude,” Lars said. “Maybe next she’ll run for the hills.”

“Do you two not have something to attend to?” Claude asked with a sigh.

“Nope!”

“I don’t.”

“Great, then you can help me with making sure dinner preparations are in order,” he said with a smile. “We have an important guest to impress after all.”

—

Dinner did not go as well as Claude was hoping it to be. Princess Catarina proved to be in a slightly better mood than earlier, but she still shrugged off his questions and attempts at conversation. He could feel Léa’s eyes on him the entire time, and knew he wasn’t going to hear the end of it from her later when they were alone. It was clear Catarina wasn’t happy about the marriage, so he stayed away from talking about that. She didn’t seem keen on talking about her interests either though, only giving “riding” and “poetry” as answers after a bit of insistence. She refused to elaborate on what kind of poetry, or anything about her horse. Her servant tried to talk for her, but she cut him off. Claude didn’t need to know anything about the way she communicated to know that she gave him an order to not say anything about her. Claude gave up on trying conversation after that.

Once dinner was cleared away, Catarina excused herself with her servant. Claude stayed behind to try to speak with the rest of the court and his family, though after a long while he sighed and excused himself to trudge up to his own quarters. As his servants ran a bath for him and helped him undress from his ornamental clothes, his mind tried to work around a solution to getting Princess Catarina to warm up to him. He wondered if he could get Léa to put in a good word for him. Maybe they would get along better because they were both women. Or perhaps he could speak with the servant in private and ask him about the princess.

He sighed in content as he slipped into the hot bath. Talking with the servant seemed to be the best course of action. His plan set, he went about washing up, though he took his time to make sure he had a clear idea of the questions he wanted to ask. With how late it was, he could not afford to waste time. He pulled on a simpler outfit and lit a candle to leave his room and pad down the halls quietly. The halls were silent, save for the occasional clink of armor from the guards on watch or the rustling of servants dashing about through the secret passageways.

Claude turned down the corridor to where the princess and her servant had been given rooms, only to nearly knock into someone. Claude quickly stepped back, the candle providing just enough light for him to realize that this was a stranger dressed in riding clothes, who was now looking at him with a wide, frightened expression. In a flash, Claude grabbed his arm and pinned him against the wall with his arm behind his back.

“Explain yourself,” he hissed, though the stranger was still paralyzed with fear.

“Y-Your majesty!”

Claude turned his head to see Catarina’s servant there. “Who is this?” he demanded in a hiss. “We were told it was only you and Princess Catarina arriving.”

The servant took a deep breath and slowly hissed it out before giving a deep bow and gesturing to the man pinned to the wall. “May I introduce you to his majesty, Prince João Santos Medeiros.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Explain.”

João and his servant jumped at the tense silent being broken. The three of them sat in a private sitting room, the fireplace crackling and casting a glow about the room and letting Claude get a better idea of this “João”. A strong, proud jaw that was currently clenched shut, with long brown hair similar to Catarina’s pulled back by a ribbon. His green eyes, nearly glowing in the dim light, were cast down and to the side from embarrassment.

“It— It cannot be so easily explained,” the servant stammered. “We will be here all night if I tried to—”

“Then we will be here all night, because what I understand is that you lied and brought someone else here without us knowing.”

“Well when you put it that way…” the servant trailed off, but then straightened up again. “But it isn’t like that at all!”

“Yet you still have not explained yourselves. Now give me a good reason why I should not call off this wedding and cut all ties with your kingdom.”

“We didn’t lie,” João spoke up. “There really are only two of us.”

“Your majesty—” the servant cut in, but João held up a hand to stop him.

“He would have found out eventually anyways. There is no point in hiding it,” he insisted, and turned back to Claude. “My mother dreamed an angel told her she would have a girl when she was pregnant with me. My father announced this everywhere, to everyone. Everything was set in place for a princess to arrive. When I was born a boy, my parents were embarrassed to say the least. They decided to masquerade me as a woman instead of admitting they were wrong.”

Claude gave him a deadpanned expression. “And when were you planning on telling me this?”

“I wasn’t. I was trying to run away before you stopped me,” João grumbled, crossing his arms.

“Well, you are lucky I did. If you had run off and called off the wedding preparations without any reason, then that could have caused trouble.”

“What does it matter? There’s going to be trouble anyways.”

“There will be none from me.”

João and his servant looked at him bewildered. “…What?” João asked.

“It would have been preferable if you had been honest about it upfront, but there is no issue from me on the matter.”

João and his servant stared at Claude wide-eyed, silent for several moments. “…Excuse us for one moment,” the servant said. The two stood up and headed over to the far side of the room. Frantic, hushed whispers were exchanged between them. Claude couldn’t pick up anything, but he did notice João pause at one point to look over at him before turning back to his servant to continue their quiet conversation.

After what seemed like forever, João sighed and gave a final nod, and the two sat back down on the couch across from Claude.

“Alright, I’ll…I’ll still do this wedding,” João agreed. “But, of course, I must still present myself as Catarina when there is anyone besides you in the vicinity. Including guards and servants.”

“I understand,” Claude agreed. He smiled and got to his feet. “I am glad we have reached an agreement.” He held out his hand to João, who reluctantly took it and got to his feet. Claude kept his grip on his hand to press a kiss to his knuckles. “I look forward to our arrangement.”

João cleared his throat and glanced away as he pulled his hand back. “Er, yes. I look forward to it as well,” he muttered.

“Perhaps tomorrow we will be able to find some time alone. I would like to learn more about you, I was not told much before your arrival,” Claude said, finding a certain enjoyment in the flustered look on João’s face.

“I— very well,” João coughed. “Have a good night.”

“I will escort you back to your room, in case you run into anyone.” Claude held his hand up when he saw João about to protest. “None of the guards know who you are, and they would not be as kind as me to ask any questions. To them, you are only a stranger inside the walls.” He went over to the fireplace to douse the embers. “Dressed quite suspiciously at that.”

“These are just my riding clothes,” João defended in a quiet whisper, a deep frown on his face. “What is so suspicious about that?”

“You are dressed for a quick getaway, are you not?”

“Yes, I was going to run as fast as possible away from this marriage.”

“How would the guards know you aren’t a poorly dressed assassin?”

João fell silent at that realization, connecting the dots. “…Fine,” he muttered. “Lead the way.” His servant followed behind them as Claude led them through the corridors again, keeping the candle close. Thankfully they managed to escape the sight of the guards striding around, and João sighed in relief when they reached his quarters.

“I will see you in the morning at breakfast,” Claude said, giving a deep bow to João. “Sleep well.”

“You as well,” João said. He flinched as he instinctively grabbed the sides of his pants, as if to curtsy, and cleared his throat and instead managed a quick, jerky bow. He retreated into his chamber with his servant, leaving Claude amused as he walked back to his own chambers.

While it wasn’t ideal that João wouldn’t be able to talk still when there was anyone around, there were still ways around it. It could cause a bit of commotion, if they were caught stealing away to be alone too many times, but he knew that such talk wouldn’t last for long. Everyone would forget once the next scandal was revealed. Claude couldn’t help but give a small sigh of relief. No wonder João was in such a bad mood. Maybe now that João knew that there would be no issue with his secret, then he would warm up to Claude more. He could only hope that João would be more pleasant company in private now.

Claude jumped in surprise when he walked into his room and saw Léa sitting on the edge of his bed, an expectant grin on her face.

“Where have you been, sneaking around after hours like this?” she teased.

“I should ask you the same. What are you doing in my room?” Claude recovered from his shock and sat down next to her. She chuckled and gave him a nudge.

“Well, I _was_ going to ask you about why you left dinner early, but now I want to know where you’ve been. In barely any clothes, at that.”

“I was paying a visit to Princess Catarina’s servant, I was hoping he would be able to tell me more about her.”

“Was the princess not awake?”

“I did not check.”

Léa snickered and stretched her arms up, falling back onto the bed. “Too bad. You could have been the talk of the court,” she said, heaving a dramatic sigh. “Your love at first sight was too strong, you couldn’t wait until your marriage was official!”

Claude looked at her with an amused smile. “You will just have to find some other way to entertain yourself.”

“Boring,” Léa scoffed. “What’d her servant say?”

“Only things that do not matter to anyone but me.”

“Are you lying to hide that you went to the kitchen to steal an extra piece of cake?”

“Wh— That was _one_ time.”

“The chefs would say otherwise.”

“Their memories are wrong.”

“ _All_ of them?”

Claude cleared his throat and glanced to the side. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

Léa stifled a yawn and sat up to get to her feet. “Fine, but you’re not getting off that easily.”

“I would be worried about you if you dropped it,” Claude joked. “Sleep well.”

“Yeah yeah, you too,” Léa said, giving him one more nudge before striding out. Claude sighed and pulled off his clothes to climb into bed, though sleep didn’t come as easily as he wished. It explained why the dress looked to fit so horribly. Green really was a good color on him, though. Claude turned onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, his brow furrowed. There was no denying that João was handsome. The light from the fireplace had complimented his features perfectly. Claude secretly hoped that they would be able to meet in that room more often, if nothing else than to see the light flickering over his sharp jaw and deep green eyes. Maybe he would even try to embarrass him again, just to see him flustered once more.


End file.
